Illinois is banning certain types of betting on NFL games, at the league’s request, because of concerns that some bets would be easy for one person to manipulate.
The Illinois Gaming Board took the action in response to a request by the NFL, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Among the bets that have been banned are first plays, replay results, whether a kicker will miss a field goal or extra point, and whether a quarterback’s first pass of a game will be incomplete. Outside of game play, bets have also been banned on anything that would fall under the umbrella of fan safety, player misconduct, penalties, officiating assignments and roster or personnel decisions.
The rule is designed to ban anything that could be viewed as “100% determinable by one person in one play.”
“Pre-determined choices and actions within the control of individual players, coaches or league officials are susceptible to abuse and manipulation,” Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter wrote.
It’s part of the strange new world of sports gambling, where the league itself is concerned enough about the possibility of game play being manipulated that it’s asking the gaming boards not to allow those bets. Theoretically the sports books shouldn’t want to take those bets anyway because if someone is manipulating game play they’re doing so to rip off the sports books. But the league doesn’t want it to even be possible, or for there to be a perception that someone involved with a team or the league could have had a financial stake in the result.
Sports books in Illinois have been warned that their licenses could be revoked if they take such bets.
